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I have officially announced and decided that this will be my last ever contract as a crew member for Royal Caribbean. After a long career with this company, it is now time to move on to the next phase of my life. I am excited and nervous for what is to come, but just wanted to thank Matt and this community for allowing me to share my life on this platform.

Summer Vibes: Raise a Glass to Freedom; Symphony of Serenity; A Wonderful Life – FR 06.30.2025; SY 07.27.2025; WN 08.15.2025 Back with a triple sailing this summer! I had thought of taking a break from blogging as I wasn’t sure I wanted to keep starting up new ones in such a short time span (over two months). But then @asquared17's blog that never ends gave me an idea. I am going to combine all our summer sailings into one blog that I can pop in and out of and not have to start up a new one each time. Here we go, let’s start by “Raising a Glass to Freedom”, appropriately named I think, because finally, I am free from the burden of this school year and summer finally is here!

Happy to be on board!

We came back to the room after WJ and found some food deliveries from Lissandra. In honour of Canada Day. Now just chilling with no real plan, and that is perfectly fine with me. I think Hubby has fallen asleep out on the balcony and I am going to spend the afternoon with my Kindle.

Check in process: We got to the port just a few minutes after 10am. Very quite. The check in process was identical to regular SC, except the signage. When we checked our bags at the podium, I noticed that we were the only ones on the list. Pier side staff walking us in confirmed that we were this sailing. Hubby has now put two and two together and he has realized he will have the flowrider to himself for the Royal Genie Package session. Now he is much happier about this add on lol. First coconut ranger cookie of the sailing:

The Royal Genie Package experience: Our Genie for this sailing was Lissandra. She is coming from a suite concierge role into Genie. It would seem like all 4 genies working in this RGP role are newer genies on their first or second contract. Despite being newer to the role, Lissandra was fantastic for what we needed. She was able to anticipate our cruising needs rather quickly and once she got to know us a bit, conversations flowed easily. She constantly checked in on us, both through WhatsApp, and in person. She was very thoughtful as well. The genie experience itself was no different than regular Star Class. Everything that a regular star class genie could do for us, she did as well. Embarkation and disembarkation process remained the same as Star Class. The RGP experience is similar to Star Class, but it’s not. They are not trying to market it as such either. It is marketed as the RGP, right down to the banners, literature in the room, seapass card, reserved seats signs, etc., nowhere is the word “star class” mentioned, because they are not trying to make it star class. Their target market for this program is new and/or suite cruisers. For those who are familiar with SC, it makes it trickier for them in that you should not book this expecting it to be identical. There are many similarities: the genie and their “powers”, the inclusion of dining and drink packages, dedicated flowrider sessions, priority embarkation and disembarkation (identical in procedure to SC), etc. But there are definitely differences as well. One being the exclusion of gratuities, and laundry is questionable. On Freedom it seems to be pressing only; and Indy might be full laundry? The other difference is the room. When you book regular SC, part of the WOW is the suite. With the RGP, depending on what room you book, there is not much WOW. In fact, the smaller rooms hinder the ability to really take advantage of the food delivery etc. The smaller ship also limits what the genie can do. Not as many activities and amenities to offer to guests. So is it worth it? In my opinion, at the right price, maybe. Let me try to clarify. If I was booked on a Non-QN/OA/IC class ship in a category lower than a GS, then it would be worth it at the right price. At $300pp/day, it’s still a hard sell for me. The disclaimer here is that I am already D+ and have access to the crown lounge even without the suite lounge. If I was booked in a GS or higher, no way would I consider the RGP. I would probably be just as happy buying the Unlimited Dining Package, VOOM, and Evian water package. The only way I would consider the RGP if I was booked in a GS or higher would be if the price went down considerably to make it worth it. For the amount it costs (regular price) for the RGP, my money is likely better spent sailing true Sky Class on QN/OA/IC class. Overall, Hubby and I think the RGP gives you the SC “lite” experience. If you have never tried SC and want to test it out at a possible lower cost, then it’s worth trying. It’s quite similar. If you are familiar with SC, then book with the mindset that it will be a slightly downgraded experience from true SC due to the reasons mentioned above. Happy to answer any other questions anyone might have. 3 weeks to SY! This cruise was easier to end knowing there’s a short dry dock.

Cheers to @OCSC Mike

Hit for just over 16k on Tuesday on wonder of the seas!!

Not bad at all! Room to curb 15 mins. Total time from room to airport…1 hour. Now sitting at our gate at FLL.

Raise a glass to Freedom! ️

Gods, Legends & Gelato—our Mediterranean adventure sailing from Rome to Greece on Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas. After a week exploring the Eternal City and ancient sites like the Vatican and Pompeii, we’re ready to trade hot cobblestone streets for cooler sea breezes. I don’t have my hopes up about the cooler sea breezes! Our cruise will take us from the port of Civitavecchia to breathtaking destinations like Santorini, Mykonos, and Kusadasi (home of ancient Ephesus), with a final stop in Naples before we return. It’s a journey that blends mythology and history, sunsets and tzatziki, and yes—plenty of gelato (and wine) along the way. We’re cruising as a party of five: me, my husband (DH), our two sons-ages 22 and 18-and our 14-year-old daughter. We’ve split into two Junior Suites this time around (a slight downgrade from our beloved 2-bedroom Grand Suite, but definitely easier on the cruise budget). Everyone’s excited for something different-some of us are in it for the history, some for the food, and some just for the thrill of not having to make our own beds for seven days. As for excursions, we’ve got a great mix lined up. In Santorini, we’re doing a highlights tour that ends in Oia…famous for its postcard-worthy sunset views. This will be our first Royal excursion after many cruises but with Santorini being a tender port and read mixed reviews about how crowds.. Mykonos is more of a beach and relax day, with the flexibility to explore the charming town or just soak up the sun. In Kusadasi, we’re diving into ancient history with a private guided tour of Ephesus through Viator, one of the best-preserved Roman cities. Our final port is Naples, where we’ll explore Herculaneum, the lesser-known (and better-preserved) sister site to Pompeii. We’re also hoping to squeeze in a visit to the archaeological museum and of course, we’ll be trying some authentic Neapolitan pizza, because we absolutely need to compare it to Roman pizza. All in the name of research, of course. Before we ever stepped foot on the ship, we spent a full week soaking in the magic of Rome and wow, did we make the most of it (despite the blazing heat). From standing under the Sistine Chapel ceiling to wandering the Colosseum’s underground tunnels, our days were filled with history, gelato, and a lot of walking (our step counts are thriving). We spent a full day at the Vatican, toured the Colosseum with access to the underground and arena floor (best tour ever), and made a day trip south (via high speed train) to explore the ruins of Pompeii. We also tossed coins in the Trevi Fountain, climbed the Spanish Steps, admired the Pantheon, went underground to the Catacombs, and even found time for a cooking class where we made fresh pasta and tiramisu. Each evening ended with a new restaurant, a scoop (or two) of gelato, and tired but happy feet. After seven days in the Eternal City, we’re definitely ready for a little R&R at sea-but Rome delivered everything we dreamed of and more.

That’s the wonderful thing about this blog community. You can be gone for a while and we will still welcome you back with open “virtual” arms

It's been a long day.....I misread this as "aggressively wash my loins...." and thought well that's a little personal, but we are all friends here so who am I to judge....

Spent most of the afternoon relaxing on the balcony. Hubby spent a chunk of time after lunch on the Flowrider. Now headed off to dinner. We are crawling along to PDCC. Trying to decide if we actually want to watch the ice show later. Show times on this sailing are 7:30/9:30. First one is too early for us, right in the middle of dinner time, and 9:30pm feels late. We are getting so old lol

See if you can figure it out lol

Yes! Finished packing and laundry folding around 4pm. Cooked dinner quickly. Headed to bed shortly. Hubby is still doing Hubby things. His side of the checked luggage is still suspiciously empty. He said at dinner that he wanted to swim in the pool. D16 (almost 17) asked him if he was packed. She then suggested he prioritize things to avoid arguments at 3am when we are supposed to roll off the driveway. You know it's bad when the kid is trying to help the parent set priorities lol. Headed to bed for a few hours of sleep.

Had to walk through the casino to get to my room to pack. Yay.

Turns out Hubby was not solo in the flowriding session today. There was another family who booked the RGP at the last minute. So last minute that even the two genies on board did not know about them until they showed up with their bags at the terminal after we did. They were not on anyone’s list or anything. But Hubby was slightly relieved too because he wasn’t sure if he could go a whole hour on his own so he was happy there were two others there to split the time with. He said it would have been hard on his legs even though his back is feeling better.

I'm sorry, but egg on pizza is just....wrong....

Nooooo!!!!!! Why why oh why?? Why get rid of Grease and they keep Cats on Oasis...!!??

Hi, how is everyone? I know, I've been a horrible friend, but i figured i would pop in and check on my peeps and what do i see but Sabrina with a Genie package on Freedom. Imagine that! Hope everyone is doing well!!

Dinner at Izumi was good as usual. Noisy though because this Izumi on Freedom has 5 Hibachi tables and there is no separation.

Proof that I can eat in the WJ if necessary

La Bamba!

Every Royal ship should have a playmakers

Not sure I have too much more to share but if I do I’ll wrap up from home. Last night was pretty uneventful. With no real after dinner plans, we just hung out on the promenade a bit and called it an early-ish night. The heat of CocoCay & 7 days of food & drink may have caught up with us. Not a huge deal but still prefer ending on a sea day. We had already done most of our packing, just need to toss a few things into our luggage when we’re ready to disembark this morning. I greatly appreciate self-assist (and obviously our short ride home). We don’t have any certain time in mind. I crashed early (even before snacking), then woke up for a while (a bit confused, lol), then back to sleep. Wife is out now but not sure how she slept. The cabin hasn’t felt as freezing the past few days (which is odd, and I don’t mean just at 2am) but my wife’s fan is helping. I can feel the cool air coming from her side. It’s a portable fold up table fan with a telescopic base so it’s actually on the floor but the stand is tall enough at full height to clear the top of the mattress. 6am so breakfast is open & I just heard an announcement chime in the hallway. Zero announcements in your cabin on Utopia, btw, except for gangway info in port I think. Marc (CD) has mentioned it being an “announcement free ship.” Don’t wanna wake my wife but also not sure if she wants breakfast. There was talk of pancakes last night. I need coffee & at least something (not an omelet, lol) so maybe I’ll go to CL & somewhere shortly. She usually stirs as I get dressed even though I try to be quiet.

What a pleasure to meet Mike and Cori. They are a beautiful couple and delightfully friendly. I sure hope we cruise together some day ! Thanks, Mike, for taking time out of your last day of cruising to spend with us old farts !

Flight update: it’s on time so far and we got a complimentary upgrade to Delta Comfort+! Small win but we will take the earlier zone boarding

Hahaha!!!!! Bingo! lol. As long as I make it in time for my MJ brunch, I will be happy!

I heard they're replacing grease with just wd-40

Sabrina might not know the exact answer yet, but she will tomorrow Like I have already mentioned, those who are used to star class (gratuities included) make it tricky for the RGP. It’s not SC and they are not trying to be. It’s totally rebranded as the RGP and as such, does not include everything that SC does, because it’s not SC. Hard to separate if you are used to SC. Back to why I might have a better answer tomorrow. While chatting with Lissandra tonight, she told me that her boss (I am guessing the GSM?) would love to meet and chat with me. He asked her if I would be around in the suite lounge tomorrow morning and I told her I will be at Chops for breakfast. Supposedly he is going to swing by. I have no clue how I get myself into these situations but I am going to ask the gratuities and laundry question. But I think I already know the answer.

I cannot comment on the Osso Bucco but I guess I am in the minority in that I just told Lissandra today that I would choose GK any day over GT. Tonight I had a pasta that I have never tried at GK, the linguine. They were able to sub in shrimp instead of clams. It was very light and quite good. This might be my new go-to as much as I love Alfredo and carbonara, I find them heavy. Hubby had the carbonara. Pizza was half Truffle & Eggs, and half meat lovers. After dinner we saw Graig Murphy. He was quite decent.

This morning we are at Nassau. Looking at the construction on the Royal Beach Club, there seems to be a lot more to do before December. Started off in the SL to make my tea. Same breakfast items as yesterday. I tried the Berliner because my sister asked me to. It was pretty good. I think I liked it better than the regular chocolate donut and the cinnamon roll. Then I headed off to Chops for breakfast. I should have taken a pic of what I ordered today but didn’t, because it did not look that appetizing. Yesterday, I asked if they could make avocado toast. Sometimes they can in CK. They said no, because they did not have any avocados. But the waiter did say to try again tomorrow (meaning today) because they might have some. So that’s what I ordered today, avocado toast. I should have already known something was up when they asked if I wanted toast with that. What showed up was exactly that, two slices of toast with a sliced avocado on the side. It was tricky to eat lol.

Slept great last night. Lounge snacks. Made my morning tea, breakfast at Chops, Hubby is on the wave. We’re at PDCC but as you all know, I am likely not leaving this ship

Room Tour As many of you might know already, we booked a suite GTY and were assigned an accessible JS. It is quite a bit larger than the regular JS. Hubby went to go take a peek at a regular one down the hall before rooms opened and he is happy. This accessible JS also has bunks which can accommodate a larger group. Bathroom At the moment I don’t know what to think of this. I will comment later on it once we start using it. Balcony One chair is zip tied. I remember reading in previous post about this happening but I don’t remember why they are doing this. Genie things

It’s cruise day! Headed to the port shortly!

Flight was super uneventful! Yay! Got our luggage without issues. This is our biggest hold up:

There is a logical (girl math) explanation for this..... I did initially put in minimum bids for a VP, GS, and OS so that I could have access to the suite lounge. There was one GS and one OS available when I booked 4 weeks ago so I was mildly hopeful. But I was also reading conflicting reports on Reddit and the RU FB page regarding GTYs and RU. I went ahead and booked VOOM, UDP, and the Evian water package (@asquared17 will get me on this one). I also noticed in the app that this sailing qualified for the "Spend to Save Challenge" which means I would get 10% cruise planner purchases back in FCCs. In the meantime, the sailing completely disappeared off Royal's site. About two weeks ago, the Genie Package went on sale. I never would have entertained this at regular price. I began to think of the "value" of this package in terms of things that matter to us during a sailing (VOOM, UDP, access to SL, priority embark/disembark, access to a wave session, unlimited Evian). By the time I factored in the "value" of those things, the sale, getting 10% back, and the fact that I would pull my RU, it made the different not too bad. That's how we ended up with a Genie, I promise you it was not always the plan lol

Day one in the casino was nice!

That's total BS about the Genies not being as attentive/experienced/responsive. Just disregard that entirely. Your Genie will be the same Genie that others have on the same cruise. They rotate around to different SC suites. This is one concern that you can simply forget about. There are 2 disadvantages to the ATS, IMO and that is their distance from the elevators and the fact that it is away from Deck 17. It is a LONG way all the way aft. For me, that's a show-stopper but for most, it is not. It is a long walk to get ANYwhere...and it's a long way from the Suites Lounge and Coastal Kitchen. There are a number of advantages of the ATS over some of the other SC suites. Namely, there are 2 completely separate and private bedrooms as opposed to one big open area. The location (aside from its distance from the elevators) is just spectacular. The 2 BR ATS were our introduction to Star Class. We did 3 of them before we moved on to other SC suites. You will love it....nothing like it !

Quick and easy disembarkation as usual. We went down to leave around 7:45am, no line besides a few people once we got to the gangway to scan off the ship, then a quick walk down the ramps, out the terminal, to our car in the outside lot. Got home a little after 9am (always hate that part). Not the best morning as the CL coffee machine decided it would only offer decaf so I made do with genpop coffee (didn't feel like waiting for specialty coffee even though I could have used vouchers). We had a quick breakfast in WJ. Wife made banana choc chip pancakes with a fresh banana but didn't like the pancakes. She's done it before. Oh well, she found some other stuff. I always offer to get fresh pancakes in the MDR one morning but she'd usually rather just grab something quick and get to relaxing. Maybe next month. I'm always a bit out of it on disembarkation day. Hate when real world stuff comes flooding back into my mind. We had an enjoyable cruise, as always, and look forward to changing a few things for our July B2B now that we're fully familiar with Utopia, have seen every show at least once, been to the included food venues, tried new drinks, etc. I usually feel like I should have done things differently (even if it's something silly like eating something more often) but I can't think of much this time. One thing we talked about was prioritizing sleeping better since we both have some sleep issues and are normally early risers so sleeping late isn't really our thing. I know when I do I feel like my morning is thrown off. I'd rather take my early morning walk to the CL for coffee and a snack then have breakfast and get to relaxing when it's nice and quiet (either on the ship or on PDCC). We stayed up a bit later than usual for us on this one so maybe we'll go back to calling it a night on the early side. Thanks to all who followed along and participated either with on-topic questions/discussion or Pink Pony Club tangents. If there are any other questions/comments (preferably about Utopia, not Chappell Roan), fire away. I have been known to ramble on for a while until I start a blog for the next cruise anyway.

After showering we took care of some last day stuff. I had OBC to cash out so we popped into the non-smoking casino. After that we grabbed some ranger cookies from Cafe promenade to bring home. Then my wife went back to the cabin to start packing since we had no plans & I got another Painchiller since I was still kinda warm from PDCC (tiki glass this time). Not sure if I mentioned this but the frozen Pesky Parrot drinks are supposed to come with candy straws (although they seem to be out a lot). I haven’t tried one yet (they give you a regular straw too) but there are different flavors. Other than packing, which doesn’t take us that long, not much planned tonight. We’ll take a few pics for our freebies since we skipped last night & my wife used them on solo pics on the 1st leg for her voiceover website and obviously have dinner at some point. I’d be more depressed about the cruise ending if we weren’t coming back next month. I’m looking forward to being very familiar with Utopia… just little stuff like which drinks I now know I like at Pesky, which sandwich I really liked at Cafe Promenade, salmon omelets in SB but certain other items in WJ, etc. Also really looking forward to switching MJ brunch to dinner (never thought I’d say that), moving GK dinner to night 2 so I can eat all the seafood I want on day 1, etc. There’s non-food stuff too of course like which shows we’d see again (or not). I need to check our plans when we get home & move a few things around.

Highly recommend the Schooner Bar singer who does as much comedy as singing. We got a table then I went down to Pesky Parrot to get a drink. Came back up like 2 minutes into his first song, I’m wearing a red polo, this tells me I’m on vacation, I can take off my Target uniform.

Salmon & plain omelet (you know who ate which one) CL stuff from earlier. Had Danish & coffee there & brought my wife back choc croissants b/c she was out. More pastries I took back to our loungers after the omelets. The cinnamon roll icing budget needs an influx of cash.

Definitely not me! @tonyfsu21 thank you for sharing. I thought our view upon approach looked a little cloudy. I thought it was fog lol

@asquared17 can relax. We made it to DTW and now sitting at the gate. Boarding in about 50 mins Not sure when Hubby got everything together because I tried to go to bed at 9pm last night. Tried, being the key word there. Normal pre-flight anxiety (not because I fear flying but I fear flight cancellations) kept me up, and then one freeloader came home from the movies along with many friends and decided to hop in the pool until about 1am. They are good kids but they still create some noise. And my bedroom faces the pool so sleep was basically a lost cause last night. Going to try to catch some sleep on the plane. Hubby is already out like a light next to me right now

Hey everyone! Now that I made it through the B2B process and am back in my cabin, going to recap the final day, day 8, of the group cruise... Started with chops breakfast: Then podcast recording where Clo, the cruise director, showed up: Then the farewell cake in the windjammer for lunch: Playmakers lunch: (Finally got my playmakers chicken tenders!) Cute new towel animal in my room: Final meetup, where in addition to Kevin singing alone like I posted yesterday, he had Laurence join him on stage as well: It was foggy, at one point you couldn't even see the water but some of it had burned off by they time I took this photo: Final MDR dinner: Seafood cake: (It smelled awful so I didn't eat it...) The chefs and waiters put on a show again: Kids Mac and Cheese: Apple Cobbler: Brownie: Laurence in the pub: Thanks everyone for a great cruise, and safe travels home to @CHart and @AshleyDillo! I will try to post a bit during the Fjords cruise but it will definitely be a different vibe with about half of the group leaving. Thanks! - Ashley

Our first B2B was just an awesome experience! We were on Liberty for a 4 day to Halifax and then 5 to Bermuda. We had the same room for both and it's really cool because it really feels like home if that makes sense. It's like settle in because we are 2 cruises 9 days. The transition from the 4 to the 5 was really, really cool. Almost feel like a celebrity, I would say there were 34 of us on back to backs. I forget the little theater room we all met in but it was nice. They took a new pic for the second cruise and handed us new cards. Old card to get off, new card to get back on. Wisked off to customs and turn around back on. This was Cape Liberty so it was cool to see a completely empty cruise terminal. Really fun experience I have to say. We did have a consecutive cruise lunch. That was a nice touch. The cruise themselves, well I just it's Royal Caribbean so it was FANTASTIC. We are just a Royal Caribbean family what can I say. I do all the bookings, I typically don't even ask as my wife and the kids trust me with everything. I chose 2 really great excursions. Halifax was the island hopper which is a truck/boat where you go through the city and the bay. That was so much fun! Great tour guide and driver. They worked so well together. Bermuda we did a full tour on a small bus. Our freaking guide was just amazing. A local Bermudian, family arrived in Bermuda in the late 1,800s. This guy knew every nook and cranny of that island. He loved to take pictures for every one at every stop. He was so nice to my little 3 year old son. We were walking about one of the stops and saw us and brought us over to this spot and pointed out that beautiful colorful fish to my son. Anyway great, great 2 cruises. Awesome back to back experience! That was a fun thing to try. Definitely want to try that again. Not as easy to do from NJ as it is in Florida. Oh and Liberty of the seas, love her. That is a great ship and even for her age and needed a makeover. Awesome room, extra large promenade view.